Preventing domestic violent before it begins is the goal of a program the Northern John Howard Society offers.
Called Stop Taking it Out on Your Partner (STOP), it targets men but is also voluntary.
"They may not have gotten violent yet, but they are abusive and they want to do something about it and there's nowhere to go except us," NJHS executive director Wayne Hughes said. "Otherwise, you would have to commit the offence, get charged, be convicted and then sentenced to the program to get it.
"That doesn't seem very sensible to us."
The group program consists of eight units, meeting once a week over 15 weeks. It works on such issues as dealing with anger and identifying triggers, the relationship between fear and anger, self esteem, toxic shame, respectful and effective communication and even tips on having fun in relationships.
The program also provides counseling to couples and one-on-one although Hughes said the waiting list is about six weeks.
For those with immediate issues and can't wait, there is an anger management drop-in session every Thursday, 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. at the NJHS office, 154 Quebec St.
In more than 70 per cent of the domestic violence cases, the man is the perpetrator, Hughes said.
More information can be found at njhsbc.com and thestopprogram.com.
